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Marquez North is Vols’ best shot in NFL draft

MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL Former Tennessee receiver Marquez North takes off on his 40-yard dash during Pro Day at the Anderson Training Center on Wednesday. Several former UT players ran through drills for NFL scouts.(Photo: Michael Patrick)

As long as there has been an NFL draft, Tennessee has never gone two years without having a player taken.

Since the draft was first implemented in 1936, the 1938, 1963 and 2015 drafts are the only ones that did not include at least one UT player. The previous two times the Vols were shut out, they had multiple players taken the following year.

To make sure history isn't made in 2016, the Vols will be pinning their hopes to a surprise early entrant wide receiver.

The NFL draft begins Thursday at 8 p.m. with the first round and continues Friday at 7 p.m. with the second and third rounds and Saturday at noon with rounds 4-7. ESPN and the NFL Network will broadcast all seven rounds, with ESPN coverage switching from its flagship network to ESPN2 on Friday at 8 p.m.

The only Tennessee entrant expected to be picked is wide receiver Marquez North, who entered the draft after an injury-plagued junior season in which he finished with six receptions for 58 yards.

North's decision to enter the draft was a gamble on the belief that his combination of size speed and leaping ability would be enough to overcome his modest career production and injury concerns. That gamble appears increasingly likely to pay off. An NFL.com mock draft has North going to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round, and FoxSports.com has him going to the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round.

His agent Chad Wiestling said North has had workouts with the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns, and that several general managers have visited North at his home in Charlotte, N.C.

"Everything has been positive," Wiestling said. "The guy, his ceiling and his potential is crazy. You're not 6-3, 227 running that fast and being that great of an athlete and not going to have an opportunity. ... He helped himself out at the combine and his pro day. Now it's just a matter of wait and see."

North ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in February, which was ninth best among wide receivers. He then outdid himself in March at Tennessee's Pro Day when he finished in 4.42 seconds. His 4.13 time in the 20-yard shuttle run in Indianapolis was one of the best in the combine, and he registered a 35-inch vertical leap.

Had he combined all of that with stronger production, he might be in line to be a first- or second-round pick. North caught 38 passes and 496 yards as a freshman to earn SEC All-Freshman honors in 2013, but had a slight dip to 30 receptions for 320 yards and four touchdowns his sophomore year, which was also injury-plagued. He appeared in just seven games in 2015 thanks to back and knee issues, which partially explained why he only caught six passes.

Wiestling said those numbers have only turned off teams so much, though, because the injuries are no longer nagging. He also said teams recognize that Tennessee's offense was run heavy in 2015, finishing with 617 rush attempts to 371 pass attempts.

"Teams do their homework, and they know Marquez is a phenomenal talent," Wiestling said. "The combination of the back injury and the offense meant there were some things production-wise that were out of his control."

A few other Vols have an outside chance of being drafted, and should at least end up with a free agent contract or a mini-camp invite by the end of the weekend.

Defensive end/linebacker Curt Maggitt was considered a possible mid- to late-round pick when the season began after a second-team All-SEC season in 2014. Maggitt chipped a bone in his hip in the 2015 season's second game, however, and is still recovering. That has hurt his draft stock, but he is still expected to earn a free agent contract.

Safety Brian Randolph helped himself with an outstanding performance at pro day, backing up his own predictions by bench-pressing 225 pounds 31 times, nine more than any defensive back at the combine, and running a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash.

Randolph, who recorded 310 tackles and eight interceptions as a four-year starter at UT, said he has worked out for the Atlanta Falcons, and has heard from the Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams.

"I know a few teams liked me before Pro Day," Randolph said. "Since then, the interest and the hype has gone up like 100 times. There was no hype around me. Nothing. I couldn't even get to an all-star game."

Kyler Kerbyson, an All-SEC left tackle and Catholic graduate, said he doesn't expect to be drafted, but said he's confident that if he gets a free agent contract, he can make a team.

"I can play all five positions and play them well," Kerbyson said. "... I'm hoping that teams see that and understand that I can actually be valuable to the program."